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Post subject: Difference Between Amps?
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 8:02 pm
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Hey All,

I was in my local guitar shop yesturday and plugged into a 59 fender Bassman RI. It sounded great but it made me wonder..... Is there a significant difference between the reissue and the original Bassman other the the obvious price tag?

Then my second question that is semi related to the first is. Is the fender Hot Rod Deville III
compirable amp as far as versatility to the bassman seeing as it has the same 6L6 tubes and 12AX7 preamp tubes?

Just to eliminate any confusion I am talking about the deville 410 not the 212.

Thanks for any input that you can give.

Dave.

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Post subject: Re: Difference Between Amps?
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 9:55 pm
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Do you mean compared to the original 1959 5F6A Bassman?

What do you think?

1959 Bassman LTD Reissue

Image

1959 5F6A Bassman
Image

1959 5F6A Bassman clone that I built

Image

Except for the number and size of the speakers, the Hot Rod Deville III bears no resemblance physically, electically, or sonically to the original 5F6A Bassman or the Reissue.

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Post subject: Re: Difference Between Amps?
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:05 pm
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bluesky636 wrote:
1959 5F6A Bassman clone that I built

Image


:shock: I want!

Fantasic job, bluesky636!


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Post subject: Re: Difference Between Amps?
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:43 pm
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Toronado wrote:
bluesky636 wrote:
1959 5F6A Bassman clone that I built

Image


:shock: I want!

Fantasic job, bluesky636!


Thanks.

Here's the complete build thread. 16 pages with lots of photos. :D

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=65668

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Post subject: Re: Difference Between Amps?
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:04 am
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As far as I am aware, someone correct me if i'm wrong... the biggest difference is the original has point to point hand wiring as opposed to PC Boards used in the reissue.
many parts, including tubes are very different in the reissues; original '59 bassman use all american parts and tubes, as was the norm back then.


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Post subject: Re: Difference Between Amps?
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:45 am
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searchfortone wrote:
As far as I am aware, someone correct me if i'm wrong... the biggest difference is the original has point to point hand wiring as opposed to PC Boards used in the reissue.
many parts, including tubes are very different in the reissues; original '59 bassman use all american parts and tubes, as was the norm back then.


Wow. Do you suppose maybe that is what is shown in the photos of the amps that I posted? :roll:

And for the record, the original 5F6A amp used eyelet board construction (as does the clone that I built) and not point to point wiring. They are two different things. This is a point to point wired amp:

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Post subject: Re: Difference Between Amps?
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:34 am
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Bluesky, that reminds me of... have you ever opened up your tube tester? Even coloered wiring is NO HELP. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Difference Between Amps?
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:29 am
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Wish I had a tube tester to open up! :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Difference Between Amps?
Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:43 am
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Aside from comparing original to reissue, what about comparing any two originals? From what I've learned no two original '59 bassman amps will sound identical. And a '59 bassman in 2012 will not sound the way it did in 1959. All components are constantly drifting as they age. It's also likely that components have been changed through the years.

I don't know if, tonally, the PCB is worse than the terminal board but there is no doubt in my mind that the old style terminal board is more reliable. And when repairs are needed (and they will be needed eventually) the terminal board is much easier to work with.

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Post subject: Re: Difference Between Amps?
Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:49 am
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mhowell wrote:
Aside from comparing original to reissue, what about comparing any two originals? From what I've learned no two original '59 bassman amps will sound identical. And a '59 bassman in 2012 will not sound the way it did in 1959. All components are constantly drifting as they age. It's also likely that components have been changed through the years.

I don't know if, tonally, the PCB is worse than the terminal board but there is no doubt in my mind that the old style terminal board is more reliable. And when repairs are needed (and they will be needed eventually) the terminal board is much easier to work with.


That is true about the components drifting. There are some companies (Chicago Blues Box for one) that even use deliberately drifted components in their 5F6A clones to try and capture some of that 50 year old sound. I would hazard a guess that most clones (mine included) sound pretty close to what the amp sounded like when brand new.

There is no reason that a well designed PCB will sound worse than a hand wired eyelet or turret board. In fact, it is possible that a well laid out PCB could sound better, at least from a noise standpoint, as the computer programs used in PCB layout can take into account the proximity of the traces, large ground pads, and other things to minimize noise. Hand wiring is extremely dependent on the builder following best practices with regard to layout, grounds, and other methods to avoid noise sources. Many high end amps use PCB (Soldano SLO-100 is an excellent example) that are well laid out and easy to repair.

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